The New Year began on an ominous note for young Indians in Australia. Nitin Garg (21) was brutally stabbed in the abdomen near a Melbourne restaurant where he worked part-time on Saturday night.
Garg managed to stagger 300 metres to the restaurant Hungry Jack’s, where he pleaded for help
before collapsing. He passed away in hospital on Sunday morning, becoming the first victim to have died following a string of alleged racist attacks on members of the Indian community since last year in Australia.
From Ludhiana in Punjab, he was a regular on social networking site Facebook and condemned “hate groups” raving about race attacks on Asians, Garg’s friends told HT on phone from Australia, rousing suspicion that he may have been hunted down for reprisal.
New Delhi took a strong view of the incident. Officials dealing with the development said the government “will be forced” to issue an advisory in the form of a warning to those who want to work and study Down Under, if the authorities there did not take stern action this time.
“The stabbing… is brutal and I hope the Australian government will take necessary action and not force India to look to other ways. We will not tolerate it anymore,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said.
Melbourne Homicide Squad Senior Sergeant Dave Snare, who described the crime as a vicious attack, said no evidence so far hinted Garg was targeted because of his race.
Garg’s family wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday, requesting his office to help them in bringing the dead body home.